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By Lachlan Strong Yeah, I know. Heaps has been written on Bamberg; I’m not exactly covering new ground, but someone’s gotta pad out the Grain and Grape website. The thing is, Bamberg really does live up to the hype. It’s like Disneyland, only good, and with beer. If you’ve ever doubted lager’s standing in the world of beer, this part of the world is the place to come. Plus, being a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the home of fisherman jousting there’s plenty to keep the non-beer-loving significant other interested too. What more could you want?
Here’s my guide to the many fine drinking establishments of Bamberg based on a recent eight days of intensive research: Brewery taps Go to these places and drink beer. Easy! Schlenkerla – The rauchbierschnapps is awful - I think that’s the only bad thing I have to say about this place. There are several different rooms and a beer garden out the back, loads of well-worn dark wood and it’s equally packed at 10am and 10pm. They get lots of tourists but it’s still a locals’ pub, and they have no problem squeezing you in on their table and trying out their English. After much research and consideration I’ve also decided the beer here is the best in Bamberg, which annoys me because it’s also the only Bamberg beer you can buy in Melbourne. Of course it tastes a whole lot better at the source. Märzen is served via gravity from wooden barrels and Weizen and Helles is in bottles. The Ur-Bock is available in October. This is one of the world’s great pubs. A potential downside is that it’s not a great place to go with vegetarians. Everyone else has no excuse not to like rauchbier. Mahr’s – Located away from the city centre so it retains a much more suburban vibe. Another classic wood-panelled pub with low doorways and a fantastic beer garden. Justifiably one of the more famous breweries in town, but I’m not as enthusiastic about the beers as some. The pub itself is the major attraction in my mind. They have Hell, Ungespundetes and Weisse on all year round, but they seem to be famous for their bocks which I’ve never managed to find. Otherwise the Weisse is the standout. Fässla – This place will benefit from the incoming smoking ban more than any in town. It’s an incredibly smoky pub which serves one of the best German pilsners I’ve had. This is a place for serious drinkers - I saw the same group of guys in the same spot every time I went there. It’s not the nicest pub (but nice enough) and the smoke can be unbearable (try and grab a table in the courtyard) but it’s worth it for the beers. They serve Pils, Lagerbier, Weizla, Weizla Dunkel and Zwergla (a dark lager) all year round. The house character seems to be a slight sulfury touch which really appeals to me. Klosterbräu – This was our local during our stay which wasn’t too bad a state of affairs. The main room of the pub is like your grandma’s living room if you were living in the 17th century, and as such has a bit more of a reserved feel than the rowdy atmosphere of Schlenkerla or Fässla. It’s very civilised, but we never stayed for more than two beers in a row as a result. The beers can be somewhat variable – my mate was determined to try both the bocks (Schwärzla Bock and Maibock) which was a big mistake, but I stuck with the regular Pils, Braunbier and Schwärzla and was served quite well. Spezial – Conveniently located over the road from Fässla, not much seems to have changed here in the last few hundred years. It’s another classic pub with that lived-in feel that you just can’t buy. This is Bamberg’s other rauchbier brewery, and the beers are noticeably less smoky than Schlenkerla. The beers have a fantastic reputation, but I think they could do with more smoke. Perhaps I just don’t appreciate subtlety. Their Ungespundet is the only non-rauchbier they do, and I think it’s my favourite – lean, straw-like malt and plenty of prickly hoppiness. Keesmann – Franconia isn’t renowned for good pils but between Fässla and this place I think Bamberg has two of the best versions I’ve come across. The pub isn’t a personal favourite – it’s a touch sterile and yellow-looking – but the Herren Pils is great. Very firm malt character and loads of fruity hop character, kind of like a NZ pils. The other beers are pretty good too, I quite liked the Sternla which is like two parts pils and one part dunkel and features one of the thickest bodies you’ll come across in a standard-strength beer. Breweries seem to come in pairs in Bamberg – this one is over the road from Mahr’s. Greifenklau – I still haven’t really grasped the appeal of this place. Its main attraction is the beautiful beer garden out the back which looks out to the Altenburg, but when we were there on a lovely night the entire place was empty. The beer’s nothing special by Bamberg standards either – of course that still means I’d drink it every day if it were available in Melbourne. Ambräusianum – This one is a real head-scratcher. It’s a modern brewpub (opened in 2005) a couple of doors down from Schlenkerla in the middle of the altstadt. The half-renovated old building and interior pot plants give the impression that you’re drinking at Geelong Pancake Parlour. You’ve probably got a chance of better beer at Pancake Parlour too. Not surprisingly, we were the only customers at the time. At least it’s central. Maisel-Keller – All the breweries listed thus far are effectively brewpubs. Maisel is a bit bigger and has two main brewery taps in town - the Bamberger Weissbierhaus which is nice and central, and Maisel-Keller which is a fair bit further out. I’m not really sure why I’ve never been to the Weissbierhaus. In any case I made the trek out to Maisel-Keller to drink Maisel Kellerbier – makes sense I suppose. It’s a pretty good beer without being spectacular. Rumour has it that the Wilde Rose beers are brewed by Maisel so there’s every chance it’s exactly the same beer as Wilde Rose Kellerbier, but I like it a lot better at Wilde Rose. Kaiserdom – Kaiserdom is Bamberg’s big industrial brewery. I’ve never bothered whilst in Bamberg, but I don’t mind the odd Kaiserdom Pils when they pop up in Melbourne. Secret Breweries They’re not really secret, just a bit harder to find. Weyermann – Yeah, that Weyermann. They have a pilot brewery on site at the maltings and they sell the beers at the gift shop, which is only open between 1pm and 3pm on Fridays. They seem to brew all kinds of different things – there were probably a dozen different varieties available when we visited, but I only grabbed a Rauchweizen and an IPA because of the incredibly high prices (€5 for 500mL, €8 for 1L – about five times the usual takeaway rate in town). Neither were particularly good, to be honest. Brauhaus Robesbierre – I’ve never spotted these beers. They’re apparently brewed in the cellar of the old Brauerei Wilde Rose and are occasionally found at the Stöhrenkeller. Bierkellers Beer gardens on the side of the hill overlooking the town. The kellers are cut into the hill. Spezial Keller – Spezial Keller has the best views over the town. We sat down at a table to write some postcards only to realise the photo on one of the postcards was taken within a couple of metres of where we were seated. A lovely place – all the Spezial beers are available, they have food and the toilets are labelled in some old German dialect so you have a 50% chance of avoiding embarrassment. Mahr’s Keller – A smaller, quieter, heavily-treed keller facing the same direction as Greifenklau (away from town). Mahr’s beers in a dark, quiet, garden setting - how civilised. Wilde Rose Keller – Easily my favourite keller and probably my second-favourite place to drink in Bamberg behind Schlenkerla. The whole town seems to come up here on warm evenings. Most people bring their own food and go up to the kiosks (one for beers served via gravity, one for weizen and soft drink) for beers. So pack a picnic dinner and come and drink the fantastic Wilde Rose Kellerbier and Schlenkerla Märzen whilst dodging flying soccer balls. There aren’t many better ways to while away a summer night. Bars Pelikan – This bar is quite a change of pace from Bamberg’s typical bustling pubs. Candlelight and tablecloths on the tables and a very quiet vibe. They’re good sports though, because they didn’t really mind us yelling at the top of our lungs in English at 2am about whether Wolfmother and the Hilltop Hoods suck. They have several beers here from small breweries in the countryside which are very hard to find, though none particularly blew me away. Café Abseits – Out on the other side of the train station from the city, not far from Weyermann, but absolutely worth it. We went there twice and I didn’t have one beer there that wasn’t fantastic. On one visit the others insisted on drinking strawberry mojitos, presumably just to annoy me, but it’s a lot easier to take when you’re drinking Griess Kellerbier, Mönchsambacher Lagerbier, Hummel-Bräu Kellerbier, Fischer Rauchbier and Andechser Bergbock Hell. The place itself is a pretty quiet student pub and the food is ordinary, but the list of about 50 interesting beers from around the area should keep you busy for quite a while. Kachelofen – This place is a bit of a touristy restaurant aimed at an older crowd but it’s dead opposite Schlenkerla and Ambräusianum and they don’t mind you just popping in for a beer (no matter how drunk you are or how late it is!) Oh yeah, they serve St Georgen-Bräu beers from Buttenheim whose Kellerbier is absolutely amazing. These are easily the most expensive tap beers in Bamberg - €3 for 500mL. Outrageous! Stöhrenkeller – We stayed three doors down from this place but they were closed for their summer break. Spewing! This is the only place you’re likely to find Robesbierre beers apparently.
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